For companies looking to launch direct marketing campaigns
(whether phone, fax, email, or direct mail), lead prospectors can be a great
resource for acquiring contact information for a prospective target market. In
Part 1 of this series, I laid out some questions that need to be nailed down
before sourcing a lead prospector. In Part 2, I will detail some questions you
need to ask when sourcing a prospector. If you have not read Part 1, you may do
so by following this link:

Contact information, such as email address and phone number,
is critical for delivering your marketing messages. Equally important is demographic
information (such as name, title, company, address, etc.) which can be used to
help hone in your marketing campaign, effectively delivering your message to the
appropriateaudience. The more
information given, the more precise your targeting can potentially be, allowing
you to more efficiently focus your marketing efforts on the people who are most
likely to purchase your product or service. Typically, there is a positive
relationship between the amount of information provided in the list and the
value you can potentially gain from it. Of course, not all demographic information
is necessarily going to be particularly valuable to you, so ask potential
prospectors for summary overviews of the information provided before sourcing.

How valid is the given information?

Just because a prospector shows a list of 1,000 Medical
Directors with their respective emails does not mean that they possess a list
of 1,000 Medical Directors with their respective emails. I have seen lists
where 25% of the contacts given were completely invalid. This occurs for a
variety of reasons. For example, the contacts’ information may never have been
true to begin with, or perhaps contacts switched companies, and the company
emails and phone numbers on record are no longer valid. Information (like
fruits, vegetables, and nuclear weaponry) has a shelf life, and a good
prospector will find ways to ensure bad information is removed from their
databases as best as they can. The greater the lengths they go to ensure this,
the more valuable their lists are likely to be. Find out the methods
prospective prospectors use to ensure their data are valid before sourcing.

How is contact information
captured?

How information is captured and warehoused will largely
determine the quality of the information provided. Just because you sent an
email to a contact and did not get an error message does not mean that your
contact will be receiving your message. It is not uncommon for people to submit
junk email addresses to companies that ask for them—email addresses that are
technically active but are rarely utilized (you probably have one yourself,
don’t you?). The prospectors that provide the highest quality lists capture
contact information from a variety of reputable sources to corroborate its
accuracy, such as trade publications and organizations, company websites,
networking platforms, and social media. Others may even directly engage their
contacts regularly to ensure quality—the higher the quality, the higher the
value. Be sure to learn what methods potential prospectors use to capture
information before sourcing.

Are refunds available for bad
information?

If you are purchasing a list of substantial size, you are
inevitably going to have some invalid information. It happens. The question is:
are you going to be charged for invalid information? Good prospectors will give
refunds for invalid contacts, so make sure that is their policy before sourcing,
or at least negotiate the price down beforehand.

Is the information for sale or for
lease?

Contact information is considered proprietary information,
and serious legal ramifications can come about if it is misused. Some
prospectors will simply sell you the information, and others will allow you to
utilize it for a set limit (either by allotted time or times utilized). Do not
assume; find out the utilization details from prospective prospectors and
decide what makes the most sense for your campaign.

No matter what you do, there is always going to be a level
of uncertainty when purchasing a list of contacts. However, taking these things
into consideration will help ensure you are getting the most value out of your
list purchases.

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